Photo Comparison: New BMW 6 Series and its predecessor E64

With the E64 6 Series preparing for a gracious exit, we wanted to take the time to welcome the new BMW 6 Series Convertible and …

With the E64 6 Series preparing for a gracious exit, we wanted to take the time to welcome the new BMW 6 Series Convertible and showing its evolution from the previous design language.

The BMW E64 was introduced in 2003 and production ended on July 8, 2010. Despite a somewhat controversial look, partially attributed to BMWs ex-chief designer Chris Bangle, the E64 models sales card shows a total of 49,053 units sold to date. The E64 was in fact penned by Adrian Van Hooydonk.

With a new fresh look and a new design direction previewed by the recent released models, the expectations are the new 6er will sell even more units in its seven year life-span.

In Europe, the new 6 Series Convertible will debut on March 26, 2011 with the 640i and 650i models. First one outputs 320 horsepower, while the 650i brings out 407 ponies from its twin-turbo V8 engine. A few months later, the 640d will join the line-up, including the xDrive option.

Looking at the comparison photos we put together, the F12 is clearly visible from any angle as the successor to the E64, while still polarized but less pronounced than its predecessor. The top fin makes the new 6er even more distinctive from all the other convertibles.

Inside, the changes are even more evident. Again previewed by the 6 Series coupe Concept, the new interior design is a huge step forward for BMW, across its entire new line-up. Driver orientation is now more pronounced than in the E64 and it is dominated by the large 10.2 inches infotainment display, framed by a chrome plate.

For a deeper look into the new 6 Series offerings, feel free read our latest coverage.

33 responses to “Photo Comparison: New BMW 6 Series and its predecessor E64”

what a r u on ? pass the bong dude, i want what u r smoking ! bungle was better ? u gotta be kidding. that men can’t draw a straight clean line even if his life would depend on it. he then would proceed to give you a lecture for hours to explain why is it better then a straight line. Grotesque designs and mish-mash lines convex concave lines, flame surfacing all an explanation why does it look good when it sux.
this car is lightyears better then anything bungle coughed up.

BTW, Hamilton, for your information, the terribly ugly old 7 Series and 6 series (E64) were both works of Adrian. I am so glad he is not designing cars for BMW any longer. What a pity he choses the designs now. That’s why we have cars like the ugly X1.

Yes. But, to be a little more precise, instead of “A[n] update”, we should consider using, “an evolution”.

The F12-13, like the other recent siblings, are of the current *evolutionary* generation of BMWs. The E63-64 were of the last *revolutionay* generation, which was indeed a big step forward creatively.

Therefore, the F12-13 are an evolution of the E63-64.

The same can be said, naturally, of the generation as a whole. The F01-02, E89, F07, F10-11, et al. also take their cues from the Concept CS/Gran Coupe. That design language was/is intended to be an *evolution* of the midpoint of the Z9X Coupe language of the last generation.

Nicole Scherzinger’s bf is right. Since both generations were directed by CEB, his work lives on…

It’s all because of those ugly front lights, which are HUGE, huger than bug eyes. It reminds me of black pockets below the eyes when someone lack sleep. So how great is this, I just realised that while the 5 Series looks sleepy from the front due to the small lights and overextended eye lids, the 6 Series has black pockets below its eyes (probably due to lack of sleep). Adrian VH should get some rest! GO SLEEP!

So how did they management to mess up a beautiful 6 concept design to this cheap looking thing? So simple, they take all the beautiful premium bits out of the concept. From the front: strip out the detailed chome line elements within the lights so we have a simple black backgroud with just chrome moulds of the twin headlights, bumper, take out all the silver details and just make some matt black plastic nets, side mirros – take out the stylish chrome holding element and just put black plastic just liek any other cars, and then the rear – take out the designer exhaust outlet in chome, just a normal tail pipe will do, in fact why not reuse the 7 Series parts for the higher end models. So here we have a cheap looking version of what could have been a very nice 6 Series as shown (concept), but no, BMW needs to cut cost and make the most profit out of every 6 Series customer, so you will not get a car that looks premium (or wait, you will need to pay extra for it if you want, but only the M version when they decide to bring it out).

As for the interior, black colour really makes the interior look very cheap. From the concept to this feels like a different car, like from a 7 Series to a Toyota Corolla. If that centre piece running from the dash to the middle of the front seats does not have a different colour other than black, then I can conclude that this interior has been ruined and whoever decided on the colour combination should work for companies like Toyota. Black is used to hide imperfections in material quality. Why do we have extensive use of black colour in a premium BMW???

Well, the new design language they r using indeed is an evolution, no argument about that, and it fits in BMW’s marketing strategy perfectly. However, there is a problem when it comes to design a whole new “generation” of them with a single concept or inspiration. inspirations simply can not be given, it’s even harder to fit them in. this new comer is a typical example of it, it follows all the family cues obviously, worked out nicely, M not saying it’s not good-looking, and M pretty sure it will looks even better in person, it’s just that it doesn’t give me the thrill as the 5 GT or even the new Z4 did, and honstly I wasn’t exciting at all when i saw these pics. So I would put it this way, that they used a evolutionary tool or language created a comparable plain object or model, and this F12-13 as a design work, due to its lack of innovation, is merely an update from its predcessor. Of course its all from a design point of view.

Beyond semantics, I’m not totally sure what your argument is. I fully concur that the F12-13 is not a ground-breaking design or lacks any new innovation, to put it your way. And, frankly, I’m a little anxious to see it in 3D…in order to assess why O’Donnell predicted that it would be the “best-looking BMW in years.”

I say, Fine! It wasn’t meant to be. You agreed that it is representative of the new *evolutionary* family look/language, yes? What else could one reasonably expect to see?

I trust you’ll agree that, previously, the E63-64 did break new ground design-wise. So did the E65. The E85, too. And, the E60 as well. Each having their own individual elements reflective of their respective DNAs. Right? They were suppose to because they’re of the *revolutionary* generation.

That was then (*revolution*), this is now (*evolution*). Unless the Board decides to make a change, the next generation — van Hooydonk’s first as Director — will be *revolutionary*. I personally like the the revolution-evolution-revolution-evolution… cycle. If every generation was revolutionary (which kinda seems to be your desired outcome), then there would chaos, IME. If every generation was evolutionary, design comes to an inspirational dead-end…which may or may not be part of the reason why BMW lured Bangle away from Fiat in the first place.

Here’s a theory. For those who believe the F12-13 doesn’t possess the ‘Wow factor’, perhaps they haven’t realized they’ve been *spoiled*. Bangle *spoiled* us with the E65 & E85. Think of all the attention those two received + E60 & E63-64, that derived from the Z9 & X Coupe “bookends”. Maybe people are expecting drama and/or fireworks with every generation, but that’s unrealistic.

No bob, the reason why I don’t care is becasue it is of NO RELEVANCE whether this new 6 is an evo or revo. This is because all I care about and all other customers and the public care about is whether this “supposed to be” NEW 6 Series is good looking or not and whether it is good enough to destroy the competition. This is the only point that matters. NOTHING ELSE. Only internal fools would care about whether this is an evo or revo with reference to the old model. Your arguement is liek saying internally, every new model must grow 5cm. See if I care if I am debating whether the car is nice looking.

The new MB CLS is “an evolution” of the previous model which in your word “the revolutionary generation”, don’t u agree? It carries all family DNA, big(or perharps I should use “everything looks just right”) improvement over its predecessor and it’s gorgeous. That’s what I considered as a sucessfull design work. I just don’t believe BMW couldn’t have done a better job than this. It has a great side profile while other drawbacks are absolute.
Anyway, “evolution” or “update” are only terminology, and I dont c using “update” is anything less than precise, wrap it up in a new fancy family-style suit, a rather dated n awkward tie…hardly to say it’s a good match up(in this case, front n rear lights, and the fabric roof, etc)
Plz don’t say we r spoiled, we r customers, we mean to be demanding, asking for better products. It’s just that this new 6er doesn’t make me want to buy it, at least not in those pics.

this is exactly how MB facelifts some of their models , a huge upgrade and with bmw its whole new model….. looks like upgrade but a better one..
for the first time I can say that I like both old and new 6…more old than new.

abolsolutely loveeee the side profile of the new 6er. so angry looking
the out going 6er will always have a place in my heart, but it definitely always did look like a sad or upset car. those damn headlights..
the new 6 will be amazing in person, as with all bimmers

To me this is not an evolution and a break in tradition for bmw i think they were stung by the negative press so they went for a more revolutionay design. i can only see the roof design carried over from the old model,
Cant wait for the m sport kits. this car looks fantastic even in standard form

the negative press was because they broke the tradition. bungle destroyed the tradition. this car is a huge step into the real-bmw world, apart from the butt ugly bungled visions. bungle cars were crappy designs.

Bottom line is that the 6 Series looks good in concept but looks terrible in the production version, how they managed to cheapen the looks of this car, they know very well what details they took out to CUT COST. All in all, a product that is unappealing and looks bland and ugly from the front

While it isn’t a radical update like the E65 over the E38 – I like it. Seeing the two side by side really draws out how much of an “update” The new 6 is. Makes the E63/64 look somewhat dated and simple with the lines of the body.

The final decision is made by the board. I also believe that Anders Warming makes a lot of decisions as far as exterior, of course, he reports to Adrian. I see this as a team effort where key people look at the design proposals and decide what’s best. The team most likely includes board members, marketing people and other key personnel.

You’re right, Adrian probably defines the language, some standards and designs flow from there, of course, creativity is allowed. I mean look at VED, totally new approach.

The new 6 is very much based on the 5GT design lines and thus it is aimed at people looking for something different and exclusive. If anyone is looking for an Audi look alike front lights, well they will be disappointed, which is itself not a bad thing

[…] range went out of production. After such a long hiatus, the 6er made a comeback in the shape of the E63/64 Coupe/Convertible duo under the supervision of none other than Chris Bangle. And while their design […]